As the company’s most successful car, the versatile Golf is the hatchback that’s loaded with German engineering and celebrating its 30th anniversary in the U.S. Global sales of more than 30 million since worldwide launch in 1974. Available in just the four-door body style, the front-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf remains the hatchback of choice for buyers demanding German engineering coupled with benchmark levels of quality, safety, style and refinement.

This final year of the sixth-generation Golf continues with the clean-cut design language of its predecessors to deliver one of the most recognizable shapes in the automotive world. Its simple, minimalistic lines are in stark contrast to many of its over-stylized rivals. The front-end design uses strong horizontal lines such as the wide, double-bar grille and front bumper airdam vanes-to visually lower and widen the car’s stance. The swept-back headlight design heightens the athletic look of the car.

In profile, a crisp, sharp crease runs the entire length of the Golf, adding visual movement to the car, while pronounced wheel arches add visual muscle. Black window trim and the absence of side moldings are in keeping with this clean-cut look. To ensure the driver has exceptional all-round visibility for added safety, the Golf boasts slender roof pillars along with a large tailgate glass. Mounted at the top of the hatch, visually extending the roofline, is a rear spoiler that houses a center high mounted stop light (CHMSL).

Distinctive rear taillights feature four individual lenses intersected by a clear panel for the turn signals and back-up lights. Running reflectors are blended into the lower rear bumper which features a blacked-out insert and a cutout for a pair of exhaust tips. Mounted between those rear lights is the trademark Volkswagen badge — only this one has a trick up its sleeve. Push the top portion of the badge and the bottom tilts upwards to release the tailgate.

The Golf continues to be offered with a choice of 2.5L inline five-cylinder

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gasoline engine or the 2.0L four-cylinder TDI Clean Diesel motor. Torque for the 2.5L is communicated to the street through a six-speed automatic transmission, while the TDI transfers power to the asphalt through a six-speed manual gearbox or the six-speed automatic.

Responsive, driver-focused handling is the hallmark of every Volkswagen Golf. And much of this is down to the car’s German-engineered control hardware which provides exceptional balance and fun-to-drive agility. All Golf models feature proven strut-type front suspension with coil springs, a lower control arm, and an anti-roll bar. At the rear there is a fully-independent multilink arrangement with coil springs, telescopic dampers, and an anti-roll bar.

Inside the passenger cabin, even the entry-level models feature the kind of

materials, fit and finish, and outstanding attention to detail normally reserved for much higher priced luxury vehicles. Throughout the cabin, high quality, soft-touch plastics are integrated with tasteful, brushed metallic trim and chrome highlights. Brushed metallic trim inserts are standard on the dash and in the door panels of all Golf models, and accent the Golf’s instrument panel and center console.

To match the Golf’s long-standing reputation as an involving, fun-to-drive compact car, the interior features front seats with body-hugging side bolsters for added support, plus an array of adjustments. All models offer eight-way manual adjustment, together with two-way adjustable lumbar support, and adjustment for height. To help ensure the perfect driving position, the thick-rimmed three-spoke steering wheel is adjustable for height and reach. For Golf with Convenience and Sunroof and all TDI Clean Diesel models, the wheel itself is leather-wrapped and features multifunction controls.

The 2014 Golf also boasts true flexibility and carry-all versatility that only a hatchback design can offer. Raise that high-lifting tailgate, flip forward the 60/40 split-folding rear seat with center pass-through, and the Golf can swallow impressive amounts of luggage.